Immortal Minds
by Kesshi Mashin
Summary: A fate worse than death is sometimes living itself... A Ranma fanfiction.
1. Memories...

Immortal Minds

by: FXffects

Disclaimer: For entertainment purposes only. Most characters herein are the sole copyright of Takahashi Rumiko, Viz Video, and so on. No infringement intended. And, thank you, for taking some time out to read this work.

* * : Thoughts

italics : Past

Prologue: Memories...

"Dreams within dreams,

Emotions within emotions,

Enigmas wrapped within riddles,

Love masked by hate,

Life and death,

Dust to dust,

Dual forces, forever entwined."

~ FXffects

The Tendou family stared incredulously at the odd pair standing before them, eyes blinking, before Soun broke down into tears. Ranma grimaced, rubbing the bridge of her nose wearily, and stepped forward. "Uh, I'm Saotome Ranma. Sorry 'bout this..."

~~~~~

"Am I dreaming?" Ranma whispered, managing a small smile as he stared down lovingly at his new wife. *My wife.*

Akane smiled faintly, as she gently reached up and ran her fingers through Ranma's hair, teasing his pigtail playfully. "Let's just hope you don't wake up," she murmured, brushing her soft red lips against his. "I love you, baka," she whispered, as Ranma reached over and clicked off the lamp light, the two lovers leaning back into the bed...

~~~~~

"... h-hold my hand, Ranma," Akane stammered out, as the blood frained from her face, her breathing becoming more labored with each passing breath. 

Ranma stifled back a sob, and quickly took hold of Akane's trembling hand, sparing a desperate look back at the doctor. "Isn't there anything you can do?" he pleaded with the doctor, as he felt Akane's grip loosen slightly.

Dr. Ono sighed, bringing a weathered hand up to brush aside a stray gray bang out of his line of vision. "I'm sorry, Ranma." Tofu gently placed a frail hand on Ranma's shoulder, sighing as he watched the hope dim in Ranma's eyes.

The pigtailed martial artist fervently shook his head, and looked back at Akane, tears now streaming down his still youthful face. "No, no, she can't die." Ranma tightened his grip on Akane's hand. "I love you, Akane. You have to stay with me."

Akane smiled lightly, as she raised a hand and wiped a tear off Ranma's face. "Don't cry, baka," she murmured, as her hand fell limply to her side, her eyes fluttering closed...

~~~~~

"Ranma, stop," Ryouga wheezed out, whipping out another worn bandanna. "You don't wanna do this."

Ranma ground his teeth, aura flaring, and flew towards the lost boy at a break neck speed. "COME ON, PIG BOY! YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KILL ME, RIGHT!?" Ranma slammed his fist into Ryouga's side, eliciting a grunt of pain from said lost boy. "WELL, NOW'S YOUR CHANCE!"

Ryouga stumbled back after a particularly vicious blow to the head, and coughed up a bit of blood, growling slightly. "Ranma..." He trailed off, as Ranma slammed another fist into his gut, sending Ryouga flying through a nearby brick wall. "Goddamnit..." Ryouga muttered, as he slowly lifted himself out from beneath the rubble, glowing an eery black "Fine then." His eyes began glowing a dark red, as a ball of chi began to gather between his outstretched hands. "SHI SHI HAKODAN!"

"That's good." Ranma grinned, and brought his hands back to his side, chi already beginning to collect in his hands. "MOUKO TAKABISHA!"

~~~~~

... Ranma stared down at the parchment in his hands, not even blinking as the change took place. "I've done it," she whispered to herself, dropping the worn sheet onto the stained dojo floors. She weakly gripped the ring on a string about her neck, staring at the small memorial set in the corner of the dojo. "For you, Akane," she murmured, as black flames sprang up all about her body. Her eyes took on a red shade, as she fell to her knees, mouth wide open in a silent scream, tears beginning to stream down her petite face.*Together again...* 

"JUNSEI SHI SHI HAKODAN!"

~~~~~

End Prologue


	2. Tea

Immortal Minds

by: FXffects

Disclaimer: For entertainment purposes only. Most characters herein are the sole copyright of Takahashi Rumiko, Viz, and so on. No infringement intended. Thank you, to all of you who have taken some time out of your day to read this.

Thoughts: * *

Past: italics 

Chapter One: Tea

"There's always time for tea." ~ Mad Hatter, Alice In Wonderland

"... you weren't invited."

"Just paying my respects, Ranma-san." Ryouga stared down at the grave marker, a series of emotions playing across his face as he gently laid a hand on the cold marble. "It's hard to lose a loved one," he whispered under his breath, watching as Ranma stiffly rose from his position beside the grave. 

"You weren't invited," Ranma ground out angrily, his red-rimmed eyes glowing with barely concealed rage. "Now get the hell out of here."

Nodding, Ryouga quickly laid a few roses onto the grave, before turning to face the pigtailed martial artist. "Alright, Ranma-san," Ryouga whispered gently, bowing slightly, "I will leave you with Akane-san now." He looked up at the rapidly darkening sky, frowning slightly. "It's gonna rain soon."

"I could care less," Ranma muttered, as he gingerly wiped at his tear stained face. "Now get the hell out of here."

"Hai, Ranma-san, I heard you the first time," Ryouga replied softly, opening his red umbrella as he started to walk away. He paused at the cemetary gates, briefly glancing back at the grave site, as the first few drops of rain began to fall. "Be strong, Ranma," he muttered under his breath, sighing as it began to rain in earnest. "Be strong..."

~~~~~

"So, Ryouga-kun, how is Akari-san doing?"

Ryouga gently set his tea cup down, and glanced up at the purple haired Amazon. "She's buried out back," he replied flatly, and reached over to pour himself another cup of tea.

"Oh... my condolences," Shampoo said after a long pause, still nursing her first cup of tea.

"Time's dulled the pain." An akward silence enveloped the room, as the two continued to sip at their drinks.

"Your Japanese has improved," Ryouga remarked softly, illiciting a small blush from the Amazon. "You've been practicing."

"Please, Ryouga-kun, you embarass me," Shampoo replied, smiling. Another long pause ensued, and the two began fidgeting slightly in their seats. Shampoo finally looked up at her host, a pleading look in her eyes. "I did not come here merely to reminicse, sorry to say, Ryouga-kun," she said, breaking the silence, as she set her cup down.

"I suspected as much." Ryouga sighed, and leaned back into his seat. "And I suspect it has something to do with Ranma-san."

The Amazon nodded slightly, her long purple tresses hiding her face from view as she kept her head bowed. "I'm sorry if I-"

Ryouga waved off the apology, and stood from his seat. "It's nothing," he mumbled, as he reached behind him and pulled out a worn wallet. "He's here," he said, handing over a small card to the puzzled Amazon. 

Shampoo paused for a moment, before nodding softly, smiling in gratitude at the burly lost boy. "Thank you." She looked down at the card, and her smile widened ever so slightly. "I should've known..."

~~~~~

... Shampoo stared up at the weathered sign, a small smile tugging at the mouth. She idly reached a hand out, and traced the elegantly written kanji engraved onto the wooden board, a brief look of nostalgia momentarily filling her expressive eyes. "It's been so long." 

A solitary bead of sweat rolled down her forehead, as she extended a shaky hand to push open the front gate doors. "I can do this." 

Her arm, however, thought differently. After a few minutes, she wearily dropped her extended arm, and merely settled with staring at the flimsy barrier barring her from her destination. She sighed softly, pouting, and plopped down onto her posterior with a 'hmmph,' continuing to stare blankly at the doors. *I can't do this.*

After a while, she dropped her gaze, and instead chose to stare at her shoes, seemingly a focus point of amusement for the purple haired Amazon. Sneakers. Shampoo poked at the twin pumps on her shoes, somewhat puzzled by her new footwear. She tugged at the shoe strings, undoing the knot, and let out another sigh. *This is stupid.* She let go of her loose shoe strings, and resumed staring at the gates, a wristful look on her face. 

Her nose wrinkled in irritation, as a drop of water splashed down onto the bridge of said nose. She stared up at the sky with some trepidation, the gathering clouds causing her to quickly shuffle to her feet. *If it's not one thing...* She exhaled, and massaged her temples slowly, before dusting off the back of her pants.

"Alright then, Shampoo, one way or another..." Nodding to herself, Shampoo reached out and pulled open the gate doors; she winced as she accidentally tore the doors off of their hinges. *Oh well.* She dropped the doors onto the cobblestone walk, and proceeded in. *Here I come, Ranma.* Another bead of sweat slowly wound its way down her forehead...

~~~~~

... The purple haired Amazon quickly ducked into the nearest building, sliding the shoji doors shut just as the rain began to fall in earnest. She breathed a sigh of relief, and silently admonished herself for forgetting an umbrella. The hairs on the back of her neck suddenly stood on end, and the Amazon whirled about, quickly lashing out with one of her deadly fists. Her eyes widened greatly, however, as she finally registered whose face she had lodged her fist into...

~~~~~

... Ranma sighed softly, letting his extended hand drop to his side limply. He stood in place for a few seconds, as he quietly comtemplated the fist planted into his face. Finally, "Christ..."

~~~~~

"Is she yours?"

Ranma looked up from his tea, and glanced over at the small girl doing dishes in the kitchen. "What, Mina?" He sipped at his tea, and scratched the back of his head in thought. "I'm pretty sure she's Kasumi and Tofu's second granddaughter." He frowned, and set his teacup down. "Or was it third?"

Shampoo blinked, and looked back over at the petite brunette, who was currently cooking some stir-fry. "Oh." She shrugged, and poured herself another cup of tea, savoring the sweet aroma. "I should have known, what with all the cooking and cleaning." She smiled as Ranma gave her a cross look.

"It ain't like I'm a freeloader nowadays, yanno," Ranma muttered, still nursing his first cup of tea. "I run the dojo out back, and I'm the substitute gym teacher at Furinken..."

"Stop, stop." The purple haired Amazon waved off the pig-tailed boy's retort, setting her teacup down onto the table. "I'm sure you earn your keep around here..."

Ranma smirked at that comment, and leaned back into his chair, ego sated.

"... barely," Shampoo muttered, hiding her smile behind her teacup. She suddenly paused, and set her teacup down onto the table, a puzzled look on her face. "Wait? Kasumi's GRANDdaughter?"

"Yup," Ranma replied nonchalantly, downing the rest of his tea in one gulp. "I think she's just turned fifteen, too."

"... oh." Shampoo stared down at her reflection in her tea, and sighed. "I didn't realize we were that old."

Ranma grimaced, and set down his own cup of tea, reaching out across the table to take one of Shampoo's hands into his own. "Oh, don't let it get to ya. It's just a number, anyhow..."

Mina poked her head out of the kitchen, a puzzled look on her face. "Jiji, where are the carrots?"

Ranma nearly face-faulted at the title, and angrily tossed his teacup into the kitchen. "SHOW SOME RESPECT, GIRL!"

Mina idly extended an arm, and caught the teacup in mid-air. "Are you done with this?"

"ARG!" A teapot quickly followed. 

"Oh, nevermind, I found the carrots. Thanks anyway, Jiji-san!"

Another teacup flew into the kitchen.

Shampoo watched Mina almost effortlessly catch both projectiles and set them down onto the countertop. *Fast.* She turned her attention back towards a fuming Ranma, her worries momentarily forgotten. "Just a number, eh, Jiji-san?" she jeered, waggling a finger in front of Ranma's face. "Oh, you're full of it." 

"Hmmph." Ranma turned slightly in his seat, grumbling about certain annoying women.

Shampoo smirked, and leaned forward in her seat, gently pecking a rather surprised Ranma on the cheek. "But you're still pretty cute... for an old guy."

Ranma merely stared at the purple haired Amazon, eyes wide in shock. "I... I..."

~~~~~

Mina blinked, and peered into the cabinets, her smile wavering ever so slightly. "Oh dear. We're out of garlic powder." She shrugged, and reached into the refridgerator, pulling out a bag full of garlic. "Oh well, guess I have to do this the old fashioned way." Mina pulled a gigantic mallet out of one of her sleeves, and brought it back over her head. *Good thing Auntie Akane had taught me this move...*

"PERVERT!" *BAM BAM BAM BAM!*

~~~~~

"PERVERT!" *BAM BAM BAM BAM!*

"EEP!!"

Shampoo watched in mild annoyance, as Ranma continued to cling desperately onto the ceiling, a fearful look in his eyes. "Oh, for the love of..." *Some things never change...*

~~~~~

End Chapter One

Author's Note: Sorry for such a long delay. I just didn't know how to finish the chapter. I'm still not sure whether or not I should've ended the chapter like this, but, oh well.

Comments? Questions? Confused? That's what reviews are for. =)


End file.
